Back in February, when snow still blanketed Sweden, I took part in a Fine Art Portraiture taster workshop run by award winning photographer Therese Asplund at her studios in Avesta. A very long busy day squeezing in 4 different shoot stations, each with a different model, dress and lighting setup. We photographers were divided into four groups of about six each, and we rotated every hour through each station.
You really only have about 10 minutes of shoot time at each station with little chance of altering the lighting setup. The main effort and difference is in directing the model and perhaps choosing a different prop. I got pretty much what every other photographer had got for my first three stations. There really is no other way to do it, and it is still a very enjoyable and challenging experience.
For my fourth and final station I asked to go last within the group. When it was my turn I set my camera on a tripod to shoot long exposures and switched off all the flash units. I used a torch I had brought to paint light based on a technique that Paolo Roversi, a well known fashion photographer, uses. As it was nearing the end of the day, I managed to squeeze a few extra minutes. I got two portraits that, given it was a new technique to me, I was very pleased with.
I had no time to develop any real rapport with the young model, Vilda Wall, so it is a credit to her that there is a little intensity of presence in these images. Perhaps having to hold the pose for a number of seconds helped to develop that. In any case something to explore further.
A second portrait of Vilda is in the Portraits section of this website.
I would like to write again soon about portraiture as it can be a fascinating, difficult and rewarding genre of photography.